Snickers Blondies

We are having the missionaries over for dinner tonight, so Dillon and I made these Snickers Blondies. He is awesome at stirring! I think I ripped this recipe out of a magazine last Halloween and we just now had a chance to try it! Yummy! 

Snickers Blondies

1/2 C flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 C butter at room temperature
1/2 C brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
12 fun size Snickers, quartered

1. Heat oven to 350. Line an 8inch square pan with parchment paper (I used foil and sprayed it with pam), leaving an overhang on the sides. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.

2. In a medium bowl beat together the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Slowly add in the flour mixture, mix just until incorporated. Fold in the snickers.

3. Spread batter into prepared pan. Bake until golden and wooden pick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs, about 25-30 minutes.

4. Let cool, then use the overhangs to transfer to a cutting board, cut into 16 bars.

Homemade Oreos

This afternoon I made cookies to send to Travis' class party tomorrow. I went ahead and taste tested one and they are yummy!


Homemade Oreos
1 3/4 C flour
1 1/2 C sugar
3/4 C butter, softened
2/3 C cocoa
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
2 T milk
1 tsp vanilla

Mix together all the ingredients. Form into balls, then flatten slightly on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 9-11 minutes. Cool completely, then frost. 

Nutter Butter Truffles

Dillon helped me make these Nutter Butter Truffles this morning. We crushed Nutter Butters then mixed them with cream cheese. Then we rolled them in balls, chilled them, and dipped them in chocolate. Looking forward to diving in to them later!

Coffee Cake

I haven't been blogging lately because I haven't been baking, but that doesn't mean we haven't been eating! I did however take a picture of a coffee cake I made last week. I was supposed to use all white chocolate chips, but since I didn't have many left and I love regular chocolate anyway, I mixed them together and it was delicious!

Decorated Almond Cake

I made this cake just because I wanted to. Isn't it pretty? I used a recipe from a cupcake book my sister gave me and it was fabulous! I really loved it, it was a slightly denser cake, kind of like a pound cake. I actually left out the ground almonds and it still had a wonderful flavor. Then I had some more fun with the icing I made a few days ago, and topped it with my FAVORITE chocolate glaze that I use all the time. It goes really well with rocky road ice cream too!

Almond Cupcakes
(I just used this recipe and baked them longer in two round cake pans, maybe 40-50 minutes)

1 3/4 C sour cream
2 sticks butter
1/2 C veggie oil
3 1/2 C flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 C sugar
2/3 C almonds, ground and toasted (optional)
4 large eggs at room temp.
2 tsp almond extract
1 tsp vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 325. Spray cake pan or line with cupcake liners.
2. Cream 1 C sour cream, butter and oil.
3. In another bowl sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar. Mix in almonds if using.
4. Add the dry ingredients to creamed mixture, one third at a time, mix well after each addition.
5. In another bowl mix eggs, remaining 3/4 C sour cream and both extracts.
6. Add egg mixture to batter in thirds, beat 1 minute on medium speed after each addition.
7. Fill cupcakes 3/4 full and bake 20-25 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

Dark Cocoa Glaze
3 T water
2 T butter
3 T cocoa
1 C powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla

Heat water and butter in saucepan over medium heat until it comes to a boil; remove from heat. Immediately stir in cocoa. Gradually add powdered sugar and vanilla, beating until smooth; cool slightly.

Chocolate Peanut Butter No Bake Cookies

I found this on Pintrest the other day and tried it over the weekend. I love anything chocolate and peanut butter. And I love anything that has the consistency of cookie dough. This was an awesome healthified version of a sweet treat and I will be making this again! I have also tried the non chocolate version that she shared, which just leave out the cocoa powder and chocolate chips, which was also great.

http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2011/10/02/chocolate-peanut-butter-no-bake-cookies/

Pretty Pink Cookies (made with mayonnaise)

Yup, you saw that right-these cookies are made with mayonnaise! I got this recipe from a book that my mom passed along to me a while back and I just ripped out some of the ones that appealed to me. I was just plain curious with this recipe. I was a little afraid of it, but pleasantly surprised! They are perfect for when you want cookies but don't have eggs on hand, they are very soft, and ridiculously easy to make.

I didn't tell Travis what was in these, for fear he wouldn't try them. But because he ate like 5 yesterday, I think they passed the taste test and I can now reveal my little secret-heehee! 

I made these for a potluck at Travis' school and I really wanted to try my hand at a little more pipping. Plus, I'm addicted to the frosting!

Mayonnaise Cookies
1 C mayo
1 C sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 C flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
Mix everything together. Spray baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes at 375. They would also be great with chocolate chips or nuts mixed in.

Decorating Icing
2 lbs powdered sugar
1 C shortening
2 T corn syrup
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 C water
Beat for 5-10 minutes.

Chocolate Poptart

The other night I was home alone and felt like a sweet treat. I made some pie dough and stuffed it with chocolate chips. I had seen this on a blog a long time ago. I topped it with a little cinnamon and sugar and it is incredible!

Almond Joy Fudge

I just love Almond Joys! I found this recipe on Pintrest and last week I made it for my grandma. Definitely a fun and yummy treat!


http://candy.about.com/od/fudgerecipes/r/almondjoyfudge.htm

Practicing Piping

Back in the day, my grandma made AMAZING cakes. So while she was visiting me this past week, I asked her to teach me a thing or two. We had a lot of fun and I think I'm ready to bake a real cake and make something pretty!

Flourless Chocolate Cake

http://content.princess.com/princess/?jlJQ.OqoIZo0A1kmOnqEWkwTki25mcQPj

When we were on our Caribbean cruise, I fell in love with the flourless chocolate cake. So I researched their recipe and this is what I found. Since my grandma is visiting us, we decided to give it a whirl. I enjoyed my slice, but it was definitely not what we had on the cruise, in fact I would rename this a rum cake because that is more what it reminded me of. I don't think I'll be hanging on to this recipe, but I still have to admit I ate a slice and a half!

St. Patrick's Day Grasshopper Cheesecake

This is the easiest cheesecake recipe ever! It comes from my magic bullet recipe book, but it would work just as easy in a blender. Instead of a graham cracker crust I put an Andes mint chocolate cookie on the bottom, then topped them with more. I cut the recipe in half and it was perfect for two. I liked the cheesecake recipe a lot, and the cookies were good, but I think next time I would rather have it with some kind of fruit topping. Because this recipe is so basic and simple, it would be easy to get creative with it.

Easy Cheesecake

1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese
2 eggs
1/2 C sugar
1 tsp vanilla
graham cracker crust

Preheat the oven to 350. Blend all the ingredients, except for the crust. Pour into the crust and bake for 2-25 minutes (or until set). Chill before eating.

No Bake Energy Crumble

I absolutely LOVE finding things that have a nutritional punch but taste amazing! So that is what I've been up to lately. I should post these kinds of things more often!

So I found this one on pintrest, but it is supposed to be bite sized balls. Mine however, did not form into balls, so instead of adding more peanut butter or honey to hold them, I just left it as a crumble and went with it. It was a yummy afternoon pick me up!

The best part about no-bake stuff like this is that if you don't have an ingredient or don't like something, it is easy to switch it out for something else. In this case I didn't have coconut on hand, so I used some Cheerios (which is probably why it didn't roll into a ball). One could also add nuts, dried fruits, different flavors of chocolate chips, etc.

1 C oats
1 C toasted coconut
1/2 C chocolate chips
1/2 C peanut butter
1/2 C ground flax seed
1/3 C honey
1 tsp vanilla

Stir everything together. Chill for 1/2 hour, then roll into balls. Store in an airtight container in the fridge.

Skinny Chocolate Chip Buttermilk Scones

I got this recipe from a blog that I follow. The were yummy with eggs and smoothies the other day!

Skinny Chocolate Chip Buttermilk Scones
3/4 C cold buttermilk
1/4 C sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1 large egg
1 C flour
1 C whole wheat flour (I didn't have any, so I ground some oats, which worked great)
1 T baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 T chilled butter

Preheat oven to 375. Combine the first 4 ingredients. Spray baking sheet or muffin cups with cooking spray.

Combine flour, baking powder and salt in another bowl. Cut in chilled butter. Fold in chocolate chips. Add milk mixture, stir until moist.

The recipe said to knead the dough a few times on a floured surface, but mine was way too wet to handle, so I didn't bother. Place in muffin cups or on sheet and bake 18-20 minutes.

Oatmeal/Protein Cookie Dough Bites

If you remember some of my posts last summer, I LOVE cookie dough-but not the raw egg. So I've found some mock cookie dough recipes. I found this one on pintrest, and it sounded like a delicious and healthy version so I really wanted to try it. Last night we were craving a sweet treat so I cut this recipe in half and it was perfect for two people. I really enjoyed them and I'm going to hang on to this recipe!
Oatmeal/Protein Cookie Dough Bites
2/3 C raw almonds
2/3 C raw walnuts
2/3 C oats
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 C agave nectar (I didn't have any so I used honey which worked great)
2 tsp vanilla
3 T chocolate chips

In a food processor, puree the nuts and oats. Then stir in remaining ingredients, except chocolate chips. Then fold in the chips and shape into balls. They are awesome chilled!

Peanut Butter Cake with Chocolate Glaze

I seriously enjoyed making my own birthday cake! I made exactly what I wanted and I had fun doing it! I made a peanut butter silk cake from a Betty Crocker recipe. Then I used a peanut butter butter cream frosting that my grandma recommended and I topped it with my all time favorite chocolate glaze.


It was absolutely delicious and I definitely enjoyed eating a slice too many!

Peanut Butter Silk Cake

1 box yellow cake mix
1 1/4 C water
1/2 C creamy peanut butter
1/3 C oil
3 eggs

Heat over to 350. Generously grease two round cake pans (8 or 9 inch rounds). Beat all ingredients on low speed of mixer for 30 seconds. Then beat on medium for 2 minutes, scraping bowl a few times. Bake 32-38 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

Peanut Butter Butter Cream Frosting

8 T softened butter
1/2 C creamy peanut butter
3/4 C powdered sugar
1 pinch salt
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 T milk

Beat butter and peanut butter until smooth. Add powdered sugar and salt and beat low until moist, then beat on medium, scraping bowl a few times. Add vanilla and milk, beat on low, then speed it up to med-high until it is light and fluffy, about 4 minutes.

Dark Cocoa Glaze

3 T water
2 T butter
3 T Cocoa
1 C powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla

Heat water and butter in a small saucepan, bring to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in cocoa. Slowly add powdered sugar and vanilla, beat with a whisk until smooth, cool slightly before using.

Homemade Pita Bread

I made pita bread yesterday! I saw a simple recipe on pintrest and gave it a shot. It was yummy and I love that they puffed up to make perfect pockets. We filled them with chicken, cheese, bell peppers, mayo and garlic salt. I can't wait to try them out with more fillings! Yum!

Brownies with Cherry M&Ms

Today I made brownies (just a box mix but still YUMMY!) And I topped it with my FAVORITE chocolate frosting/glaze and sprinkled some Cherry M&Ms on top. I can't wait to dive in tonight!

Cookies and Cream Cupcakes

I have to apologize that I haven't been baking lately. We've been on a candy kick lately. But I did make these yesterday for Travis' potluck. I used two recipes that I've used before, the cookies and cream cupcakes and the rich fudge topping from my Boston cream pie recipe. The result? SOOO YUMMY!